Taking care of oneself

The life of a work-at-home, homeschooling mom is a lot about taking care of things – for our families, for our spouses, for our work. But in all this it is very easy to let taking care of ourselves slip or even put on the back burner.

For the last few years I’ve been on a concentrated journey to regain my health. Something that was dangerously close to the edge the result of the first few years I worked at home. I pushed and pushed, trying to do it all, and in the meantime would forget to eat, put off exercising, and rarely slept. It messed with my thyroid, my metabolism, and caused a dangerous situation. Thankfully, I’ve been able to make recoveries, and while I still have a ways to go, I am healthier now both physically and mentally than I have been in many years.

Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a hard, in-your-face crisis to get there. Tonight I pray for a dear friend, another work-at-home, homeschooling mom, who had a heart attack this week. Pushing too much, trying to do it all, is not good for anyone, including ourselves, obviously. But also not good for our families or our spouses.

I pray that others will take our lessons and not go through it themselves. Please don’t try to do it all, to fit it all in in one day. It’s not possible, nor is it reasonable to expect of yourself. Take the time for yourself, for your sanity, for your health, so that you can be whole and healthy. It’s not being selfish. It’s part of serving those around you. A healthy, sane mom and wife is worth more than a worn-out, tired, ill mom and wife. Believe me. I know. Learning it the hard way isn’t fun.